Critter
by Xentel
Summary: Life as a rogue has not treated Starscream well. In fact, he somehow wound up mutating himself, resulting in the loss of his wings, his dignity, and his pride. Now he must figure out how to survive in this new bestial form. (Rewrite of On Unfamiliar Peds)


**Author's Note: **Hello, I have posted here before, back in 2017. This is a concept that has been haunting me for the past few years, and I have finally, _finally_ gotten around to figuring out how I want things to go. This is part of an AU/Canon Divergence I have been planning, and I have finally gotten inspired enough to work on it for real.

Some basic info before getting started if anyone cares, feel free to skip to past the break point if not interested:

This fic takes place right before _Operation Bumblebee_. The 'true' AU starts after _One Shall Rise._

Starscream was dumb and drank some energon he shouldn't have. He is now essentially a mutant predacon.

This fic is based off of my other three concept pieces, of which I am debating whether to delete or archive. They are scant of content, old, unbetaed, and I loathe them now, so read at your own peril.

Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Anyways, enough of my ranting, thank you for taking the time to check this out, and enjoy.

* * *

The trek to the mine had been long and difficult. Doubly so, considering that Starscream had spent the entire journey adjusting to his new frame. He had spent the first few hours inspecting himself, stretching his limbs and trying to figure out how to control others. Starscream now walked on all fours, and his frame was nearly devoid of proper armor, and what little armor he had was covered in chipped paint; his protoform was readily exposed.

His original 'claws' had been mere imitations compared to the talons he now had. Each fat digit was tipped with a curved claw that could hook into and tear apart metal.

His helm had elongated into a long snout, filled with razor sharp denta, and his optics were now a fiery orange. He still had his optic ridges and his characteristic red crest, but two small horns were now growing from the sides of his helm.

His wings were gone. They had long since sloughed off, only to be replaced by growths above his shoulders. He had grown a long tail, which was tipped with a rather large blade. The blade itself was rather thick, and Starscream found that he could transform it into a servo-like talon.

All in all, Starscream felt that he could have been a vicious beast, if it were not for the fact that he was smaller than a vehicon's vehicle mode.

Starscream sighed as he arrived at the mine coordinates. He was at least lucky that his sense of direction was still intact.

* * *

The mine was fairly small compared to most, but this one seemed to have denser, richer deposits in its walls. Starscream carefully crept through the mine, avoiding the vehicon patrols by hiding within the shadows. His soft pedsteps were easily masked by the whirring of saw blades and the continuous drone of the drills as their operators worked.

Soon enough Starscream found himself nearing the energon storage bay. It was being guarded by two eradicons. He let out a soft sigh. It was never this easy. Dispatching them would have been a simple matter if he were still a seeker. He would likely have to find an unattended sector and scavenge there.

Suddenly, the sound of blasterfire rang throughout the mine. The eradicons stiffened immediately, then ran to join their comrades.

Starscream glanced around, then sprinted over to the bay entrance. The attack was convenient, but Starscream was sure that the Autobots were here for the energon, and doubted that they would share the spoils, if the attack was even successful. He would have to grab a crystal and flee, or find somewhere to hide until he could sneak away.

He was met with a tower of unrefined energon, waiting to be processed for pickup. He glanced around, and darted over to one of the smaller clusters, carefully pulling a chunk of energon from the pile. It was almost too big, but Starscream managed to hold it in his jaws, though only after some careful repositioning. The blaster fire was growing louder, closer.

Starscream trotted back towards the bay entrance, then scrambled back to the walls of the cavern, already feeling more secure within the shadows. The Autobots quickly pushed deeper into the mine, their Prime slicing into the eradicons as they charged. Starscream only spared a few glances at the fight as he made his way towards the entrance. The Autobots were easily winning this battle. As he ran away, Starscream could see a multitude of fallen vehicons, some punched through with smoldering holes, others cut to pieces. The few survivors had long since fled their posts, though the chassis of some workers were mixed in with those of the eradicons.

The entrance to the mine was in sight. Starscream slowed, his small frame already heated due to the distance he had traveled. His tanks were achingly empty. He was close enough to the entrance, surely it wouldn't be too dangerous for him to stop and refuel?

Starscream trotted over to the cavern entrance, staying close to the wall. He sat down when he was far enough out to see the night sky above, the stars speckling the black void. Starscream set his energon down, intakes cycling rapidly to cool his frame. Growing impatient, he bit off a chunk of the energon, shuddering in both relief and discomfort as he ingested the raw material.

The blaster fire had faded into silence, and Starscream felt slightly uneasy. He would leave soon, but he just needed a few more chunks of his energon before he started running. He had not refueled in days, and his sprint to the exit had taken quite a bit of his limited reserves. The mutation had depleted his resources almost to the point of starvation, and he was very lucky to have the chance to refuel here.

Starscream quickly found himself finishing the energon, and the silence in the mine told him that the fighting had stopped, perhaps indicators of an Autobot victory. He sighed. The energon he managed to get would last him a few days, at most, but only if he stayed in a low power state. There was plenty of raw energon still unmined, perhaps he could sneak back in and harvest some more before he was forced to flee.

With his decision made, he began the trek back into the mine, straying away from the walls, as his need for stealth had been removed. It was a while before he found the Autobots again, deep in the mine, carting the harvested energon through a groundbridge. Starscream held in a huff. This made things a whole lot harder, although this was what he was expecting. He moved on, sticking to the shadows, creeping his way around a corner into a neglected sector.

The sector had a few chunks of energon that had not been harvested yet, but all of them were either embedded into the ceiling or high up the walls. Starscream huffed. The other sectors were too deep inside the mine, and the Decepticons would surely attempt to retake it soon. He made his way under one of the lower clusters, before sitting on his haunches. He stared up at it, thinking.

The wall was terribly uneven. Stone jutted out all over, perfect footholds to dig his claws into. Starscream looked down at his peds. They were certainly sharp, but they did not have the same dexterity as his servos used to. Starscream sighed as he inspected his new digits. He would just have to be careful.

Something moved behind him, and a large shadow fell over Starscream's form.

Starscream barely had time to process this before a pair of giant servos scooped him off of the ground, quickly restraining his legs. He yelped, then moved to bite his attacker, but he was quickly crushed against a large green chestplate with one servo, while the other pressed his neck back, preventing Starscream from getting a good angle.

Starscream went still, optics wide with fear. His captor rotated him to get a better look, and Starscream caught a glimpse of Bulkhead's puzzled expression. "Optimus…!" He called out, tilting his head away when Starscream began to writhe. Bulkhead turned and began to walk back to his comrades, "...You're gonna wanna see this!"

Optimus walked out of the groundbridge, optics widening upon catching sight of Starscream. Bumblebee stepped out of the groundbridge as well, at first glancing, then staring at Bulkhead's catch.

"_What is that?_" Bumblebee asked immediately, the pair moving closer for a better look.

"That's what I wanna know!" Bulkhead held Starscream out for all to see, shifting his grip so that he was holding Starscream by his abdomen. "I just found it sneakin' around."

Optimus stared at Starscream, deep in thought. Starscream's optics darted between the scout and the Prime, wide and full of anxiety.

"_You know, it kind of looks like Starscream._"

Bulkhead considered for a moment, then chuckled. "Yeah, it kinda does. Just needs some paint is all."

Optimus narrowed his optics. Starscream shivered, hoping to Primus that they would conclude the resemblance to be superficial.

Arcee walked out from the storage bay, setting down a crate of raw energon upon catching sight of her teammates. She stopped beside the Prime, shocked at first, staring at Starscream with a puzzled expression.

Bumblebee hummed. "_It looks like it was already painted though._" He tilted his helm. "_But, it's all… patchy._"

Starscream stared at Arcee. He couldn't help it. The femme was terrifying. Arcee stared back, optics narrowing. Starscream flinched.

"Huh. It even seems to have Ol' Screamy's colors."

Optimus's optics widened, but he did not say anything.

"_Yeah…_" Bumblebee trailed off, thinking. He seemed to want to say more, but doubt seemed to make them pause. The silence filled Starscream with dread, but a sliver of hope remained.

Arcee stared for a moment longer, then her optics widened as recognition and rage filled them. "...You!" She yelled, a snarl on her faceplates.

Starscream's energon ran cold, and his hope died. Frag, he was doomed.

Then the thought occurred to him that he had a tail.

He immediately stuck his tail in Bulkhead's abdomen, and when Bulkhead dropped him to the ground in pain and surprise, Starscream bolted.

He sprinted as fast as he could toward the exit, away from the bewildered Autobots.

Away from most of them, anyway.

Arcee immediately gave chase. She ran into her transformation, tires spinning before she hit the ground. Optimus called out for her to wait, but she was already speeding after Starscream. She quickly caught up to the beast, who was struggling to push himself to go faster. Arcee veered towards him, intending to ram Starscream, but something happened that neither of them were expecting.

Starscream tripped over a rock.

He fell helmfirst, upper body skidding through the dirt briefly before falling onto his back. Arcee sped past, taking a moment to skid to a halt. Starscream shakily righted himself, rising to his peds as Arcee transformed, rage in her optics.

Starscream yelped and began to run again, darting into another sector. _Primus, she recognized him, she was going to catch him, he was going to die-!_

Starscream skid to a halt as he realized that he was running towards a dead end, and turned only to be met with a kick to the side. Starscream rolled across the ground, energon dripping from his new wound; a large ped sized dent in his side with a deep horizontal gash. He came to a stop a few yards away from the femme, and shakily rose to his peds, looking up at Arcee with terror in his optics.

Arcee walked forward, and Starscream scrambled back, optics darting around as he desperately searched for an escape. He found none, and began to tremble as he pressed himself into the wall. Still, Arcee closed in on him, ignoring him as he snarled in warning.

A warmth began to grow in Starscream's chestplate, and Arcee stopped as markings on his neck plates started to glow. Starscream lowered his helm as the warmth traveled up his throat, before the force of the fire snapped both his helm upright and his jaws open. The blast shot into Arcee's chestplate, exploding in a cloud of fire and smoke.

Starscream perked up slightly, shocked by his own ability. His shock turned to horror as the glow of Arcee's angry optics pierced the smoke, and she lunged at him, knocking him onto his side and pinning him to the ground by his neck. Starscream screeched, raising his tail to stab her, but Arcee grabbed it, glaring at him with pure hatred in her optics.

She easily overpowered the beast, and began to guide his tail over his exposed underbelly, Starscream kicked, writhed and screeched, but Arcee quickly found her mark, stabbing the beast with his own tail. Starscream howled, clawing at her arm as Arcee dragged the blade down his abdomen. Energon gushed out of the wound, pouring onto the floor in thick blue streams.

A voice boomed behind the pair, and Arcee suddenly let go. Starscream scrambled to get away, only barely managing to drag himself a few feet before collapsing against the wall, intakes coming in harsh gasps as he slid to the floor. He stared as Arcee looked back, then slowly rose to her peds, crossing her arms as she backed away.

Movement caught his attention. Starscream tried to focus on the area behind Arcee, unable to see much with his blurred vision. A massive red and blue form approached the pair, staring down at Starscream with stern blue optics. Starscream tried to rise again, desperate to escape, but his legs gave out under him. A voice boomed above him, but Starscream was unable to understand, his systems already shutting down due to energon loss. His optics dimmed and shuttered, chassis falling lax as he lost consciousness.

* * *

True Word Count: 2150

Post Date: 3/8/2020

Edited: N/A

Unbetaed.


End file.
